I love reading the site both LD/ADHD. The imformation is
priceless. I am so frustated right now I could scream.
I know alot of people don’t like to have thier children
labeled but I go look forward to answers to all this confusion.
My dd homework last night was a nightmare.
Not because she doesn’t want to do it but because
she can’t remember how too. And this is not the first time.
Her teacher sent home(again) homework with no instructions.
She give’s brand new material that the class has just been inturduced
to for homework with only oral instructions on how to do it.
My dd get so upset. She doesn’t want to go to school the next
day because she will have to pull her card for incorrect or incomplete
homework.
I have spoke to the teacher and she said she must not be paying
attention. My suggestion was maybe she can’t.
Why would a gifted little girl who wants to get good grades
and please her teacher, not listen to her teacher.
When I tried to get to the bottem of this….. She talks of haveing
a very confuseing day. She tells me she is always behind, working
on the first command when the teacher gives the next command.
So she will ask the girl next to her, “What did she say?” Then while
working on that. Then comes more instruction. Which cause her
confusion. I tell her she needs to speak up and tell her teacher
but she says she has and her teacher tells she needs to pay attention.
She already explained this twice. Once I told her to
tell her teacher I did not understand what she wanted done on a pervious
assignment. And the Teacher told her I didn’t need to understand
her homework. It wasn’t mine. And she never did explain it to my dd.
When I met with her before about this. She informed me she had been
teaching for 27 yr. and had worked with all types of children. And
she seen no attention problems or anxiety in my daughter.
Thanks for the vent. I can’t wait to get her testing done.
la
Re: Frustated
Is a 7yr old 2nd grader able to work independently on
homework, given only oral instructions? (Her oral instructions
are not how to do the actual work, It is more about what it is
about and which papers to take home, not instructions on the actual
work. They should remember that from previous lessons.)Her homework
was a blank story web/map. She was to fill in the circles
Title, Plot, characters, theme, setting. I quess? Under each circle
was two lines. For what? At the bottem of the page were
several lines to write.What? With no written instructions.
On my dd good days she says “My teacher act’s like I’m in
college or something.” How far behind is my dd in not being
able to do this?
Re: Frustated
Kelly,
How are her reading skills? Is she receiving any services like speech/language? I ask that because if she already has an IEP, you could put the modification of written homework instructions in there.
It very possibly could be an auditory processing disorder. Have you thought about that? The teacher certainly can’t see inside her brain and know how fast she processes things!
Janis
Re: Frustated
Your daughter may not be the only one having problems in this class. Young children needs lots of careful explaining and much repetition. Ask quietly around and you’ll probably find other frustrated children and their parents out there.
It may also be that your daughter has some underlying issues with processing or attention and testing would help you to better understand that.
If the testing isn’t going to be happen in the immediate future, though, you might want to consider scheduling a meeting with the teacher. You could tell her that while the homework is certainly your daughter’s to do, it is a parent’s responsibility to see that it gets done. Which would the teacher prefer? That it gets done any old way or does she want it done properly?
Some teachers in my school would say they prefer the homework to be done any old way if that meant the child did it absolutely on their own. Others would say they prefer it to be done properly and if that means a parent has to help, so be it.
If the teacher is ‘pulling cards’ for incorrectly completed homework, though, then it would certainly seem this teachers wants homework to be done accurately. I’d ask her then why are there no written directions of any kind on the homework? Do all children this age have pristine ability to hear and retain a set of instructions? Has she in 27 years never encountered this before? If the child does not retain the directions what has she done in the past?
Another approach would be to avoid the teacher entirely and work through another family in the room. If you know a caring family, you could call and gather from them and their child an idea of how the homework is to be done.
Good luck.
Re: Frustated
Sara, I have asked and it seems to be a mixed revue.
Teacher’s that I have spoken to feel she is one of the best
because she really pushes them in academic’s. But the few
parents I have ran across are very frustrated.
My dd is to start testing tomorrow.
Also I did break down today and talk with
a neighbor who’s daughter is in 2nd grade at
the same school. Her daughter is a bright 2nd grader but
has a different teacher. All classes are on the same curriculum.
Starting at the same time. The homework was not the same.
I have been working around this all year. My dd say’s she is
mean. I have told her she is strict. I want my dd to learn to
deal with all type’s of people. But I will be glad to move
on after this year. thank you for you reply….
Re: Frustated
Reading skill superior in decodeing, avg in comprehension.
Her IEP is in giftedness. Could this be added without testing?
Yes I have thought of CAPD. Testing tomorrow is to rule
out adhd and nvld. I do not feel the teacher has to be a mind
reader. I have told her my concerns. She knows about the
testing. And I feel my dd has too….in her own way. I think
she feels I am wrong. My psychologist believe’s her giftedness
mask’s whatever is going on. Her expressive language s
is very confusing and out of order. Her written language is superior
in spelling and the actual writing. But it like her oral language
is all jumbled and out of order.
Re: Frustated
Well, I’m glad you are having the testing done. I hope they will do a full speech/language eval as well. You need that as part of the puzzle. I will say that some of the symptoms of ADD-inattentive and CAPD overlap. So hopefully they will refer her for the auditory processing testing if there is any question there. I doubt you could add modifications like written directions to a gifted IEP. I imagine she would need a speech/language IEP. But even if she doesn’t qualify for that, you might be able to get a 504 plan if she is diagnosed with something that is hindering her educational progress. But you’ll really have to wait until all the testing is completed to really know what to do next.
I’ll tell you though, I do not like that kind of teacher who refuses to acknowledge that some children are not able to listen attentively all the time. Children with ADD/ADHD and APD just can’t do it all the time. I went through that with my son. His teacher thought he was just lazy when he was really ADD inattentive.
Let us know what happens, Kelly. :-)
Janis
Re: Frustated
I am dealing with the same issue with my son and have been since the second grade. He is now in fifth grade and every year is the same scenerio. I do talk to the teachers with pretty much the same answers you’ve gotten. I even tried to do it their way and still he had the same issue: would say he didn’t understand the homework. He is ADD inattentive, but somehow many teachers do not understand the symptoms - they prefer to think that he is “just messing with Mom”. So I took a trip to the class and observed only to find out that he was really lost throughout most of the lectures doing just as your daughter does by trying to remember what she said last. He daydreams a lot or whatever you call his inattentive episodes and basically not completing anything in class either. Needless to say - he is failing. I am having a meeting next week to request to see all classroom assignments and have clear instructions for all homework assignments. It is hard for me to tell if he understands the assignment or not because of his inattentiveness. Sometimes he does but he is anxious about whether or not he heard it right because he knows his mind wonders. If he had the instructions at least the anxiety wouldn’t be an issue because he would be secure in the fact that he can re-read the instructions if he needs to. Even college classes give a syllabus and instructions of assignments. I have been amazed to find out that classroom teachers think this is a huge request. I don’t understand it, it seems all common sense to me. I have even checked this website for articles on keeping kids on track and it all points towards providing everything we are talking about. Why is it so hard to actually implement in the classroom?
tj
You know when I reread my post. It is embarraaing. I look dyslexic.
(smile)